Eighteen Italian fishermen, held captive in Libya for more than 100 days, have been freed, ending a political standoff between the two countries over the fate of the men. The prolonged imprisonment of the group had become an embarrassment for Italy’s government, with critics accusing ministers of failing to stand up to Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who holds sway in eastern Libya.

The Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, and foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, flew to Benghazi for the release of the fishermen, who were on board two Sicilian boats that were seized by Haftar’s forces on 1 September. “We received phone calls confirming their imminent release,” Salvatore Quinci, the mayor of the Sicilian port town of Mazara del Vallo, where the men are from, told Italian media. “We are really happy.”